Update on Project Activities
This week we had our first focus group with the Mountain View Spanish Speaking Ambassadors. We gave a brief overview of our project, asked them to fill out the Spanish-translated paper survey and then solicited general comments. If willing, we also asked them to distribute additional paper versions of the survey to members of their own community, as then we can further represent this often underrepresented group. The survey will also be published again through The City of Mountain View’s social media channels, as we saw a large spike in the number of responses directly after publishing. What We Observed and Learned The insights that the Ambassadors were willing to share were incredibly influential in our view of the digital divide and the impact of this project. One key takeaway was the experience with affordable internet options. Both Comcast and AT&T have internet options for $10 to $15 a month specifically for low-income residents that qualify by being eligible for food stamps or other government assistance programs. Our team was disheartened by the feedback that these programs often prey on low-income residents. The affordable internet is a “hook” to get people subscribed to the service. Then, as many ambassadors shared, the actual service is so poor that the internet is almost unusable. As such, they call to ask about an upgrade, which drastically increases the price. One ambassador said that with the extras she had to purchase in order to have internet fast enough to allow her daughter to use the internet for schoolwork, she is now paying $67/month. These lived experiences are incredibly enlightening. Our initial focus was trying to spread awareness of these programs for residents in need, but now we’re faced with larger questions about the efficacy of current low-cost options. This experience really showed us the necessity of citizen participation. When we consider the ladder of citizen participation, we feel like we’re stuck at the Placation stage. The ambassadors can advise, but don’t have decision making power. We’re considering how we can further engage all community members. On that note of community member engagement, an interesting historical example was brought to light at the meeting. The ambassadors recalled in 2016 when Google came into Mountain View promising fast, affordable wifi service available to all. However, the latency was high and the project was quickly abandoned, leaving the citizens disappointed and confused. While our project is more research-based and we don’t have direct decision-making power, we want to keep the experiences of community members at the front of our minds when considering policy recommendations. Critical Analysis/Moving Forward The focus group gave some great feedback about current resources. The hours of the senior center don’t cater towards those who work until 7 or 8pm at night. Some of the digital literacy classes in the library are inaccessible because of the language barrier. Overall, there was a really strong ask for more education. Paraphrasing an ambassador, she said that education about how to use the technology is almost more important than direct access to it. While she can borrow a computer or visit the library, because she doesn’t understand how to use digital resources, she is unable to consume any information from them. The importance of digital literacy and ensuring that adequate resources are available and accessible was really stressed. That being said, a majority of our survey respondents, as well as those whom attended our focus group, were older than 60. We’re also interested in learning how younger demographics interact with technology and the barriers that they face. As such, we’re going to hopefully be visiting the Mountain View teen center next week. The largest hurdle that we’re currently facing is a problem that we anticipated, the location data that our survey provides is not targeted enough to determine communities within Mountain View that do not have internet access. As such, we’re mainly relying on the ambassadors to distribute the survey to members of their community that do not have internet access. When we meet with our community partner this next week, we’re going to be focusing on strategies to engage with those without access. Comments are closed.
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